Court told poisoned ex-KGB officer worked for MI6

Dec. 13, 2012
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Ex-KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko, shown in a 2002 photo, died six years ago after ingesting polonium-210 in London. A preliminary coroner's inquest heard Thursday that Litvinenko had been working for MI6, the British secret service, at the time and that evidence indicates Russian state involvement in his death. / Alistair Fuller AP

Lawyers for Marina Litvinenko said her husband was "a paid agent and employee of MI6" at the time of his death and, at the British secret service's instigation, was working for Spanish intelligence providing information on Russian state involvement in organized crime, The Guardianreported.

Litvinenko died in London after ingesting polonium-210, allegedly during a meeting at a restaurant with ex-KGB contacts Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, the BBC reported.

Ben Emmerson, a lawyer representing Litvinenko's widow Marina, told the coroner, Sir Robert Owen, that the inquest that opens in May will hear evidence that the murdered man had been working for the British secret services under the direction of an MI6 handler who used the pseudonym "Martin."

While he was dying in the hospital, Litvinenko gave Martin's number to a police officer and, without disclosing his MI6 connection, suggested the police follow up, Emmerson told the hearing.

He said Litvinenko also had a dedicated phone that he used only for phoning "Martin."

Hugh Davies, counsel to the inquest, told the hearing that an assessment of government documents "does establish a prima facie case as to the culpability of the Russian state" in Litvinenko's death, The Guardian reported.

Moscow has previously denied any involvement in Mr Litvinenko's death.

Emmerson told the hearing that the full inquest should consider whether MI6 failed in its duty to protect against a "real and immediate risk to life."

Neil Garnham, representing the Home Office, told the review he could "neither confirm nor deny" whether Litvinenko was employed by British intelligence, the BBC reported.